Results for the Something Amazing You'll Want to See Contest!

Clearly you all wanted me to see you are hilarious and talented. I am once again in awe of the talent displayed here!


Special recognition for writing a poem for her entry
Tara Tyler 11:26am

Special recognition for an individual line or lines that just wow'd me

BookishQua 5:07pm
"Her father’s truck grumbled in the driveway, shaking a gnarled fist at the bitter chill of the Maine morning."

Margaret Teisch-Williams 7:30pm
"these are the lies we hang in dark places when we don’t expect to see morning."


The entry that will make Gary Corby weep:
Carol Dance 5:09pm


Imaginative use of "rens"
Kitty 10:35am--"children's"

AngiNicole 2:08pm -- drag queens


Lines that just cracked me up:
Charley 10:02am
“It’s history! The Golden Fleece. The Silken Shawl with Silver Fringe. The Really Nice Cotton Jeans of Levi the Reckless.”

Mark 10:06am
“Hey now Liam, ‘argo,’ ‘ergo,’ I go where you go, you know that.”

cj 2:52pm
Genevieve Rens had the exhilarator peddle pressed to the floor
(now my guess is this is NOT what the writer intended, but in the spirit of DamnYou AutoCorrect, I just had to recognize its merit!)


Android Astronomer 3:50pm
“’Lather, rens, repeat.’”

andthatswhyImsingle.com 9:22am
It's unfortunate that the phrase ‘urine soaked’ is never associated with anything positive...I had that Jason/Argo/Golden fleece 'wet dream' once again-of course, not the good kind…



Two entries that just cracked me up;
Just Jan 8:50am

"Stupid book," I said, slamming my dictionary closed. "How am I supposed to know what 'rens' means?"

"Janet Reid having another contest?" my husband asked.

"The countdown began yesterday. Only a couple of hours left." My eyes flicked over the word list. "Argo's a noble gas, isn't it?"

"You're thinking of argon."

"Right." I pulled out Tom Sawyer. "Maybe I can use 'truck' like Aunt Polly did in Chapter One."

"Twain's definitely on the fringe there. I wouldn't recommend mimicking him."

"But he's a genius!"

"Ninety-nine percent perspiration, remember? Keep trying, dear. Something amazing is bound to happen."



Judith Gonda 7:05pm

The ransom note led us to an office on the fringe of downtown, on Rens Street.
I sat in the truck for a couple of minutes figuring out our next move.
Ted broke the silence.
“Maybe we should show the note to the cops, let them deal.”
“Too late,” I said. “The countdown has started, I’m going in.”
We walked into the office, no one was around, but the computer was on.
I reread the note.
“It says to press the ESC key and then enter Argo.”
“ESC Argo? I thought that was an appetizer, not an entrée.”
"Stop wasting time, Snail Male, just do it."


Predictions about the something amazing:

Charley 10:02am
a full-size reproduction of the original Argo? Or tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters (since the Rens aren’t around anymore)? Or, ok, getting serious, perhaps your critique of our stunningly good (or maybe quite the opposite) query letter?


Kregger 10:14am
Gary Corby’s imminent release of Ionia Sanction and please do not call me Shirley.

Cynthia Ivers 1:46pm
Marine scientists have discovered a new breed of shark off of New York's coastline and have named it Reid shark

Rosalind Smith-Nazilli 2:18pm
the new 'Argo' movie directed by Ben Affleck and written by George Clooney?

Cj 2:52pm
Is the something the amazing Q or Suzie?

Michelle 3:17pm
Argo tickets or a signed copy of the Pericles Commission.

wordencounters 3:28pm
an excerpt from "The Ionia Sanction".

adelaida 7:03pm
Aussie author and his agent will celebrate on November 8.

Marie Rearden 9:39pm
Did you make an amazing sale? Is that the Something Amazing? Possibly a new client? :)

Kristen Smith 10:49pm
* Something I would find amazing and would love to see is a photo of you cuddling The Rental Cat like a baby and handfeeding him kibble.

The Rental Cat. Cuddle at your own risk!

Kate Higgins 12:31am
I guess that 'something amazing' is a trip to see Greece with Gary Corby. Hey, I can dream...
Or it might be an arc ot the sctual book:"The Iona Sanction".


Here are the finalists:

Swift Scribble 10:01am

She marks the calendar. The countdown to the end, though no one knows it but her. She finally learned her lesson.

She was lobotomized for predicting the Great Depression, burned for suggesting the plague. When she warned the crew of the Argo that Apollo…she lets that thought die. Just his name makes her shudder. It’s his fault she’s lived dozen lifetimes, all of them wasted on the fringes as a mad woman.

But not this time. This time, as Rens unloads her truck of apocalyptic supplies, Cassandra keeps her mouth shut.

Well, almost. She offers to pay him double.

Tomorrow.
~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~


Charley 10:02am
“But it’s the Argo!”
“Sorry, Jason. Too many shark bites.”
“It’s history! The Golden Fleece. The Silken Shawl with Silver Fringe. The Really Nice Cotton Jeans of Levi the Reckless.”
“Can’t trade it for a yacht. Ain’t worth it.”
“A car, then. A Bentley—”
“No.”
“Mercedes?”
“I’ll give you a truck.”
“A Mack?”
“A pickup. There.”
“What?! That’s older than the New York Rens!”
“Take it or leave it.”
“No way. Give me—”
“Three.”
“Look, it’s Argo! It’s amazing!”
“Two.”
“You’re kidding. A countdown?”
“One.”
“OK!”
“Gas is extra. Still got that Fleece?”
“I been fleeced enough. I’m outa here.”

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 



Sarah W 10:59am

Gramps says the game’s gone to hell since the 1939 New York Rens slammed the Celtics in the countdown. Since five black men in a Harlem ballroom with gold fringe on the drapes first showed the world how to put a ball through a hoop.

I tell him Franklin Argo could be the best since Tarzan Cooper -- maybe even Fats Jenkins.

But Gramps don’t truck with the players today. “They tall,” he says. “Some of ‘em fast. They want respect for being loud ‘n proud, but can they earn it for playing the damn game?”

I’m sure gonna try.

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 


Marie Rearden 9:39pm
Three minutes.

I traced the stars from bow to mast to crow’s nest. Sammy twined our fingers to stop mine from shaking.

“It’s Argo, Nat. Sailing the fringe of the galaxy.”

Two minutes.

I choked on my tears as they dissolved into the hospital’s rooftop, amazed my nine-year-old sister remembered that story.

Sammy grinned and nudged me with her sunken shoulder. “Should’ve rented a truck instead.”

One minute.

She was comforting me. Me?! Sammy had rens in high supply. I dared my sobs to ruin our last moment.

“More like a plane. Right?”

No answer.

“Right?”

The countdown was done.

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 

Curtis Edmonds 11:10pm

My wife and I were cleaning out her dead Uncle Lyndon’s house. He’d spent years building a quarter-scale replica of the sailing ship HMS ARGO. It took us three hours to load it on the truck.
“He must have been a little weird,” I said.
“On the fringe, maybe. He did spend all that time running that Resident Evil Network Server.”
“The RENS? That was him?”
“Yeah.” She poked at a pile of trash. “Hey, look, it’s a cassingle.” It was a Europe song, The Final Countdown.
“Weird.”
“Just keep looking,” she said. “That falcon is here somewhere. I’m sure.”

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~


Terri Lynn Coop 11:48pm
I waited at the Flatiron Argo Tea as instructed. I wondered which tea swilling yuppie was my contact. Turns out she was sexy with fanatical eyes under a fringe of bangs.

“I like Ten Ren’s Jasmine,” she said, and we did the delicate verbal dance of verification.

Satisfied, she gave me an envelope. After a peek at the smiling Benjamins, I surrendered the portfolio.

Her smile vanished. “You’re under arrest.” Outside I saw NYPD exiting a bakery truck.

“Officer, my assignment was to find the infiltrator. Good meeting you,” I said, clicking the cellphone button that started the ten-second countdown.


~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 

Kate Outhwaite 5:02am
“Argo! (The Musical)” was destined to be the hit of the 1985 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Christopher (Jason, An Argonaut), James (other males), Rens (auteur) and I (women) knew it as we rattled north in James’s VW Beetle, our countdown to fortune clicking past with every mile.

Sandwiched in the back between rucksacks and Christopher, I yearned to touch Rens. Rens was mature (23!), exotic (Dutch parents!) and, as I found out as we waited for the breakdown truck, madly in love (with Christopher).

The show flopped but James and I have been married 23 years now. (He had a car.)

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 

Kelly 9:58pm
Untrained eyes would see lawn chair cushions in front of a couch. I know better.

“Permission to board?”

Her head pops through the pile. She shovels the fringe of bangs out of her eyes. I really need to trim those.

“The countdown’s starting and the Argo waits for no one. You’re just in time!”

“Thank goodness! Where are we going today?”

“Rens.”

“Where?”

She sighs heavily. “Denmark.” Where does she learn these things? “And we’re gonna have to truck if we’re gonna stop the evil Lord Latimer from stealing all the Danishes.”

“Pastries or people?”

There’s a short pause. “Both.”

~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~  ~~~~^~~~~ 




The decision was very difficult. You're making me gnaw my fins here! But, after reading the entries several times, the winner is:

Kate Outhwaite 5:02am

And for the news about Something Amazing, well, that's part of the prize.


Something Amazing You'll Want to See is the reveal of the cover for

UNRAVELING by Elizabeth Norris

She didn’t see it coming--

A truck that came out of nowhere.
A boy with the power to restore life.
A countdown to the end of the world.

--until it was too late.

Yes, you want this book.


And the prize for this contest, lucky Kate!, is a hot off the press, Advanced Reader copy, signed by Liz Norris herself, of UNRAVELING.



The word prompts were all related to UNRAVELING:

countdown: "Stop the countdown, save the world" is on the cover

truck: "A truck that came out of nowhere."

fringe: UNRAVELING was pitched as "Before I Fall meets Fringe"

argo:  Liz Norris is addicted to Argo Tea

rens:  I really confuzzled y'all on this one to my utter delight.  Kristin Rens is the editor for UNRAVELING and she is just the cat's pjs.



Thanks to all who entered, congratulations to all the honorees, and special kudos to Kate Outhwaite (and Kate, if you'll email me your mailing address we'll get your prize out to you!)